It’s almost annoying how similar I am to my dad, but I just know this is something he would’ve done at my age. We’re both so similar in the fact that we 1. love to write, but 2. love to recollect our lessons and memories and express it in a form of advice for others.
Tonight is my last night of being 22. Again, much like my dad, I am very much a sentimental person, and I pretty much cry the night before every birthday, on every birthday, or both. But I just want to defend myself in saying that I know I’m not alone in the fact that I do this, and I’m not ashamed of valuing my life, and every milestone like a birthday. I’m a crier, ok?
So, yes, tonight I cried. And here’s how it happened. I got done at the gym, and thought to myself, “Ok, I’m going to play 22 by Taylor Swift for the last time, because it’s just not going to be the same tomorrow, or any day after.” So….on the way home from the gym, I cried while singing 22 by Taylor Swift. I’m laughing to myself right now just admitting this, but whatever, I don’t fucking care.
22 has been a HUGE year for me, and to be quite blunt: it was the worst year ever. Seriously! But there was just so much that happened within this year to be honest. It started off with a break up, then I graduated college. Back-to-back, those two events were so hard to take in. Then, here’s the hard part, I fell deeply depressed. SLOWLY overcame the depression. I traveled a lot, worked on my fitness and health, and lost weight. I’ve done so much, and learned so much in this year that I really want to share 22 things I’ve learned while being 22. I’ve learned so much about myself, people, and life. I’m not an expert, but I’m giving my two cents whether you like it or not. So, here’s 22 things I learned at 22.
- I was broken up with, and it was a hard time for me. I think what I learned most is: no matter how good you are to someone, or think you are, sometimes it’s just not enough. And you have to accept the reality that it’s just not meant to be, and even though it is so hard, you have to learn to move on. Honestly, it works out for the best in the end, because if we were supposed to be together, we would be. I’m accepting of this, and I’ve happily moved on. I think I really just needed to learn a lot of lessons about that relationship, and about myself. Now that I have, I can use this knowledge for the next one!
- That being said…no matter how nice/ good you are to someone, they’ll still do/ say horrible things. My lesson is: these people are showing you their true colors, so believe the reality of what they show you, and let those people go. No need to try to be the “bigger person” anymore. I honestly just act like they don’t exist and go about my day. If they want to flat out disrespect you, then they should not get any ounce of your attention. It’s hard at first, but it’s the truth.
- Now onto friends. This year my circle grew a little smaller….and I’m actually very happy this happened! In life, you just have to weed out the bad ones. That can honestly be applied to almost anything, but in this lesson, number 3, I’m applying it to friends. Life is so hard as it is, and friends are supposed to be there for support or to make you laugh. If they’re not being a good friend to me, then I give them the good ole Gabby boot, and so should you! Who cares if your circle shrank, or you have no one. FIND YOUR PEOPLE! My friends know me for me, and they know how I am, and guess what? They still love me for it. Anyone else who doesn’t can honestly kiss my ass.
- I’ve only been preaching this one for MONTHS, but: SELF-LOVE. I grew sooooo much self love for myself this year! I grew confidence and happiness, and it’s all because I like how I am, and I like who I am, and I think everyone should feel this way about themselves. And honestly, a breakup will teach you just that. You have to re-find your worth, and rediscover your identity. That was my hardest challenge, and once I got there, I flourished and transformed. Why do you think I got butterflies tatted on me for goodness sake? This bitch has flourished and changed, and I could not be more proud of myself.
- Family. You know, when I was in a relationship, I didn’t see my family as much. I will never do that again. My family is my everything, my backbone, my biggest cheering section, and no one’s got me like they do. My parents have helped me through so many things, and I just seriously will never take them for granted. Lesson learned: appreciate your fam.
- Family IS everything, but not all family. I’ve learned that I don’t have to respect someone just because we’re blood. Sounds harsh, right? Not everyone may agree, but I just don’t think I need to love someone automatically when our relationship is non-existent. So, it’s ok to not love all of your family. Just saying.
- Life is hard, but an inch forward is an inch forward. This year I was so confused about life. I struggled for so long if I wanted to move or not, or what career I wanted to pursue. It was really challenging to figure out, because I sincerely had no clue what I wanted to do, but I knew in order to grow financially or career wise, I had to figure it out! But! I! Couldn’t! But then eventually I did!
- I learned how rewarding it is to eat healthy, to work out consistently, and to get a good nights sleep the majority of the time. I will never go back to my old habits, and I’m so glad I turned my health around. This year has shown me what getting into a good healthy routine can do for you and your health.
- Ok. I learned, even though it’s so annoying, that it’s ok to miss someone. It’s ok to miss someone even though they are 100% completely undeserving of it. It doesn’t mean I’ll reach out, or say hi, because I won’t. But I love with my whole heart, and I realized it’s ok to miss someone, because at one point, they were a big part of my life, and I can’t discount that. So, it’s ok to miss someone, just don’t reflect too much, because that’ll just get ya down and blue sister.
- This year I learned to value the little things. Even if they’re the tiniest things, or put a temporary smile on your face, value it! I value my coffee, because I really do look forward to it. I value Sudoku, because it’s a nice little way to distract me from my anxiety, and I value The Office, because it’s the best show ever. Small things make a big difference, and you have to love the little things in life.
- Sometimes you have to work at a place that does not make you happy, because you’re still trying to figure life out. Most of 22, I didn’t have any sort of my life together, but what I did have was a job that paid the bills. I know sometimes we have to do something or work somewhere that doesn’t make us happy at all, but remind yourself it’s only temporary, and that it’s helping you build yourself. It’s helping you while you figure things out.
- This one is so simple, but wow I was not good at this before. Here it is: If someone is not giving you the time of day that you deserve, then YOU don’t give them the time of day. If someone isn’t giving you the effort that you are putting in, then YOU stop giving all your effort since it’s not being matched. Stop wasting your time on people who don’t deserve it! People should earn their way into your life, and they shouldn’t get an excuse for not putting in effort or attention. Shit needs to be equal. Do not under value yourself.
- I have never felt more alone, depressed, confused, and anxious more in this year than I have ever in my entire life. But, I have never learned more about myself than I have this year. I think we all have to go through some really tough things to truly understand ourselves. I was forced to figure shit out, and it was the biggest challenge ever, but it was the most rewarding. I’m so happy I’ve spent 22 working on me, and I think you have to do that alone. Or at least, it was best for me this way.
- Skin care. Skin care. Skin care.
- Do things for you from time to time. Order some clothes online, or go eat at that place you’re craving. This probably falls under self love, but I think we should treat ourselves way more often than what we do. I think we should make ourselves our number one priority, because only you are really stuck with yourself for the rest of your life. So I’m going to make myself happy.
- Travel more. Probably easier said than done, but I’ve traveled so much this year, and I’m so thankful for it. You really just learn so much more about yourself when you travel. You get to decide how you spend your days, where you want to eat, and what you miss and don’t miss. I hope I can travel as much at 23.
- Don’t let your guard down too fast. I unfortunately have done this one too many times, and it bites me in the ass every time. Stop it, Gabby! Fuck. But yeah, seriously, sometimes you just have to be a damn onion. Give them one layer at a time, hunny, and make sure they work for those layers!
- Don’t be afraid to be you and to show yourself though. I’m expressive and an over-sharer, and I’ll still post blogs about how I’m feeling, etc. and I won’t care if y’all read it or not. If you’ve made it this far: hello.
- DON’T LET PEOPLE KNOCK YOU DOWN!!! Fuck those people!!! You need to grow up and be courageous by putting your foot down and standing up for yourself. And honestly, I don’t care if it’s at work, to a stranger, an ex, or to a friend; you need to seriously stand up for yourself, because it’s your life and no one gets to boss you around!
- I’ve learned that even if my morals and beliefs don’t match up with someone else’s, then that does not mean there needs to be any disrespect or harsh feelings towards someone. You just accept what they believe, and you move on. My parents are 100% against tattoos, and I have 7, so they know about them, can hate them, and now move on. My body, my beliefs. Their bodies, their beliefs. We respectfully disagree about tattoos…and we move on. Plain and simple.
- I learned that I want to be a school counselor! So, I’m going to get my masters in school counseling! Yay!
- This one is so cliche, but some things are so hard to actually BELIEVE, but: honestly, everything is always going to work out. Life gets so hard, rough patches get long, but you just have to push forward. You. Have. To. Life is going to work out as it should, and you just have to keep working at being a better person, a happier person, and a more positive person. Have that faith that everything really is going to work out, but actually work on yourself too! Nothing fixes itself.
Thank you reading my 22 lessons that I gathered this year at 22. It’s been a tough, yet rewarding year for me, and although most of it was hard, I wouldn’t changed any of it. You shouldn’t change the tough parts, because they always lead you to the good ones.
Also, Happy 23rd Birthday to me!



























